Moulins (, ''Molins'' in Bourbonnais oïl dialect); is a commune in central France, capital of the

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

department. It is located on the river

. Among its many tourist attractions are the Maison Mantin, the Anne de Beaujeu Museum, and The National Center of Costume and Scenography.

Geography

Moulins is located on the banks of the river Allier. Moulins-sur-Allier station, in the centre of the town, has direct trains to Paris ( Gare de Bercy), which take about 2 hours 25 minutes. The A79 motorway passes south of the town. Montbeugny Airport is a small airport located near Moulins.

History

Before the French Revolution, Moulins was the capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Bourbonnais The Bourbonnais (; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Borbonés'') was a Provinces of France, historic province in the centre of France that corresponds to the modern ''département in France, département'' of Allier, along with part of the ''dépar ...

and the seat of the Dukes of Bourbon. It appears in documented records at least as far back as the year 990. In 1232, Archambaud VIII, Sire de Bourbon granted a franchise to the village's inhabitants. The town achieved greater prominence in 1327, when Charles IV elevated Louis I de Clermont to Duke of Bourbon. Either Louis or the later

Peter II, Duke of Bourbon Peter II, Duke of Bourbon (1 December 1438 – 10 October 1503 in Moulins), was the son of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon, and Agnes of Burgundy, and a member of the House of Bourbon. He and his wife Anne of France ruled as regents during the mino ...

and of Auvergne moved the capital of the province from

Bourbon-l'Archambault Bourbon-l'Archambault () is a spa town and a commune in the Allier department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. It is the place of origin of the House of Bourbon. Population Personalities In 1681, Louise Marie Anne de Bou ...

to Moulins. :''Note: This article in French suggests Pierre II moved the capital, while th
local tourism website
(also in French) suggests it was Louis I.'' In February 1566 it became eponymous to the Edict of Moulins, an important royal ordinance dealing with many aspects of the administration of justice and feudal and ecclesiastical privilege, including limitations on the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

s held by French princes, abrogation of the levy of rights of

tallage Tallage or talliage (from the French , i.e. a part cut out of the whole) may have signified at first any tax, but became in England and France a land use or land tenure tax. Later in England it was further limited to assessments by the crown up ...

claimed by seigneurs over their dependants, and provisions for a system of concessions on rivers. This was the birthplace of the great 19th-century operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

and art collector Jean-Baptiste Faure. In the 20th century,

Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...

went to school in Moulins as an orphan, before moving to Paris, where she became a fashion designer and major innovator in women's clothing.

Politics and administration

Territorial division

Moulins is the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

, even though it is not the most populated commune of the department.

Elections to municipal and intercommunal councils

Mayors of Moulins

The position of mayor has existed in Moulins since 1518. The current mayor is

Pierre-André Périssol Pierre-André Périssol (born 30 April 1947) is a French politician, former Minister of Housing, and former Deputy (France), Deputy in the National Assembly of France. Périssol is currently serving his third term as the Mayor (France), mayor of ...

, in office since 1995 and last re-elected at the 2020 elections.

Other elections

International relations

Moulins is twinned with: * Bad Vilbel,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

since 26 October 1990 *

Montepulciano Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Population

Museums

* Centre National du Costume de Scene (museum)

Notable people

* Antoine Gilbert Griffet de Labaume (1756–1805), translator and man of letters *

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (; 14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier ...

(1823–1891), poet and playwright * Jean Pastelot (1820–1870), painter and caricaturist *

, fashion designer, started as a cabaret singer * Philippe N'Dioro, footballer * Jean-Luc Perrot (born 1959), pipe organ player and composer * Stéphane Risacher, basketball player for the French national team * Jean-Baptiste Faure, opera singer * Samuel Paty, slain teacher *

Claude Louis Hector de Villars Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince of Martigues, Marquis then (1st) Duke of Villars, Viscount of Melun (, 8 May 1653 – 17 June 1734) was a French people, French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was on ...

(1653–1734), Marshal General of France * Gilbert Mercier (1957), author of "The Orwellian Empire" and journalist * Louis Jacques Brunet (1811), ancient professor of natural history *

James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick (21 August 1670 – 12 June 1734) was a French Royal Army officer and nobleman who was the eldest illegitimate son of James II of England by Arabella Churchill (royal mistress), Arabella Churchill, the ...

(1670–1734) * Rahel Shtainshnaider, footballer *

Antoine Dauvergne Antoine Dauvergne (3 October 1713 – 11 February 1797) was a French composer and violinist. Dauvergne was born in Moulins, Allier. He served as master of the ''Chambre du roi'', director of the Concert Spirituel from 1762 to 1771, and direc ...

(1713-1797), composer

Notable companies

* Decauville factory * Manitowoc Company

Climate

References

External links

City council website
(in French)
Local tourism website
(in French)
Picture of Moulins Cathedral
{{Authority control Communes of Allier Prefectures in France Bourbonnais Allier communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia